• 2 months ago
In the remote Aboriginal town of Roebourne in Western Australia's north, music has long served as a powerful medium for sharing cultural and political stories. For 14 years, the annual 'Songs for Freedom' concert has been a vital platform for artists to express these narratives through song. This weekend marked the final Roebourne concert, with the community hoping its legacy will inspire the next generation to continue this rich tradition of storytelling. Please note, this story contains the name of an Indigenous person who has passed away.

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00:00A break from routine for these students in Roeburn.
00:08The town's biggest concert of the year is just days away and they've been tasked with
00:12writing, producing and performing their own music.
00:15I mean it feels really exciting, like you get to know a lot of people, to get to know
00:21new.
00:22You get a little nervous but after you get done with it, it doesn't really matter.
00:29For 14 years the Songs for Freedom concerts have given local artists a platform to express
00:34themselves as well as heal from past traumas, including the death of local teenager John
00:39Pat in police custody in 1983.
00:45Today many of the songs touch on political themes, but for Kenton and Isaac it's the
00:50simple beauty of WA's Rugged North they like to sing about.
00:53To me I think it's about the future, it's about Roeburn, like the huts, like Red Dusty
00:59Dirt and stuff.
01:00Showing all the people around the country the talent from this little town with a big
01:05heart.
01:06Hey, deadly I reckon.
01:08The children aren't alone on stage, they've got the support of musicians from around the
01:11country who they've been working with all week on their songs as part of the program.
01:17I think I'm always taken aback by the beautiful imagery that kids can offer.
01:23One of them was waiting for birds to come to you with seeds out on your arms.
01:29I was like, it's just so stunning.
01:34This is the last concert of its kind.
01:36Organisers say the labour intensive events will now make way for new artistic projects
01:40in Roeburn, but the town's youth say the concerts have inspired them to keep singing.
01:46Metro audiences will have a chance to see the concert when a one-off performance of
01:49Songs for Freedom is staged in Perth next month.
01:53Charlie McLean, ABC News, Roeburn.

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